Rocco and another man were both standing inside the warehouse. The other man was well dressed, but even from how far away I was, I could see the guns at his sides. Rocco was likely also armed.
My blood boiled when I saw Sky standing in front of them. There was an open closet off to the right, and I had a feeling that’s where they had been keeping her. But it was the conversation that really got my fury going.
Rocco was the one talking, and the other man was listening and nodding. Sky looked terrified and defeated. No doubt she was either drugged or starved. It wasn’t likely Rocco was going to be very humane with her now that she was out of the public’s eye. I was almost surprised to see that she hadn’t been beaten.
That is, until I heard what they were talking about.
“ I think she’s worth a little more than that. I’m not arguing with you that she’s not anything too special, but you’ve got to figure in how much you’re going to make with her, and let me tell you, she was popular back at the club,” Rocco said.
“This is a different business,” the other man replied. “They aren’t coming to see these girls strip. They want to touch they want to be touched they want a lot more than that.”
“Well she’s got a little bit of a mind of her own, but if you train her the right way, she’ll make you a lot of money. I had those tits in my face just the other day and let me tell you. It was enough to make my mouth water,” Rocco said.
It was all I could do not to start shooting through the window. I wanted to wrap my hands around that prick’s throat and squeeze until I felt his windpipe crack beneath my fingers. I wanted to watch the life leave his eyes. I looked at Sky and felt sick to my stomach. Clearly, Rocco was trying to sell her into the sex trade and the thought of it made me see red. He was even more of a disgusting piece of shit than I’d originally thought. I couldn’t wait to put his ass down. Prison was too good for him. He deserved a bullet to the head.
But then, it seemed Rocco wanted more for her than the man was willing to spend. That might give me an advantage. I’d keep an eye on them, waiting for my backup to arrive. As long as nothing was directly happening to Sky, I had a few minutes to wait for others to arrive.
I watched, listening to their sick discussion and hoping that Welsh would get there with the rest of the officers soon. It seemed like it took forever, and I sympathized with those who were waiting for me to arrive when they were in the middle of an emergency.
I listened intently for the sound of sirens out of one ear, while I kept track of what was going on inside with the other. I would glance in through the window every now and then, ensuring Sky was still just standing there and not being harmed.
“Come on, Welsh, where the fuck are you?” I muttered.
Suddenly, things took a turn inside the warehouse. I hadn’t been paying as much attention to what they were talking about, but I heard Sky cry out. I peered around the window, fighting the urge to jump up and look in entirely. I needed that upper hand against these two.
Rocco had his hands on her forearms, and he was doing his best to wrestle her into that closet again. Sky was crying and fighting, pleading with him not to. My blood was boiling, but it was when he struck her across the face that I knew I had to get in there. I leapt up, running back to the door, no longer caring if they heard me.
“Hands in the air!” I shouted as I threw open the door. “Chicago PD!”
I didn’t bother with the badge. Both Rocco and the other man pulled out their guns and started shooting at me. I couldn’t return fire for fear of hitting Sky. Instead, I ducked around the door and shouted to her. “Get in the closet, Sky! You’ll be safe there!”
I glanced around the corner, only to be met with more gunshots. But she had listened to me, and I could now return fire. I took aim, trying to get the upper hand, but the two had scattered. They were now on different sides of the building behind old cars. It would be impossible to return fire without going inside.
But for Sky, I’d do anything. I eased myself in front of the door, watching. Ready to duck if I had to. I knew the two were good shots, and they had experience. But so did I, and they had messed with the wrong woman. The sound of sirens in the background started to fill the air, giving me more confidence.
I stepped inside, diving behind a car myself when gunshots rang out. I returned fire, but as soon as I rose to do so, a shot rang out and a sting like nothing I’d ever felt rushed through my body. I’d been hit in the chest, close to my heart.
With all the blood, it might have been too close.
“Jack!” I heard Sky scream. I wanted to tell her to stay down, I wanted to scream at her to stay safe, but I fell to the ground. The room was starting to spin, and I was grappling to stay alive.
Rocco’s laugh filled the air, and I could see his figure starting for me. I wanted to shoot again, but I couldn’t move. I could vaguely make out his shape taking aim, when another sound filled the air.
“Officer down! Officer down!” Welsh’s voice filled the room followed quickly by gunfire and Sky’s screaming.
Then the world went black.
24
Sky
I folded the blanket and set it on the end of the bed. The last week had been exhausting, and I was ready to get out of the hospital. Last week felt like a lifetime ago, and I felt like an entirely different person.
I had nightmares most of the week from the trauma of what I’d gone through, though I was told I was only missing for two days, it felt like so much longer. A therapist had been by my room daily to see how I was doing, and today was the day she said I could go home.
Several of the officers had stopped by to also check in on me, which I was grateful for. Of course, I was sure they were there for Jack, whom I myself had been down to see several times, but they were kind enough to visit me too. I felt terrible that he’d nearly died for me and was more grateful than I could say that he was alive.
He assured me that he was fine, he promised me that he still cared about me, and he told me he was glad things had turned out the way they did. Both Rocco and the other man, Slade, as he was called, had been arrested, and they were both facing heavy sentences. Slade’s sex slave ring was also broken, and a lot of the girls he’d been holding captive were freed.
It was really a heroic act all around, though I was now afraid Jack was going to leave. Everything was done and over with, and we’d never really talked about what was next.
We hadn’t had the chance to talk privately. There was always a nurse or someone else in the room during the time I got to visit, and now I was going home. I’d give him a call in a day or two, but that was really the best I could do. I’d hope for the best, of course, but something told me he was going to move on.
There was a knock at the door.
“Almost ready,” I said, assuming it was a nurse. I turned and was shocked to see Jack standing there.
“Hey,” he said with a smile. “I heard that you were being released, and I wanted to come down to tell you I’ll be out soon, too.”
“Today?” I asked.
He looked over his shoulder, then he stepped into the room, pulling the door closed behind him. “I don’t think so, but I still wanted to talk to you. How are you doing?”
“I’m okay,” I said. “For the first time in a long time I feel free. I’m going to be making a lot of changes going forward.”
“Good,” he smiled.
“I think it’s time I hit the reset button on my life, you know?” I said. I was speaking more to myself than to him, but he nodded anyway. “I just want things to be different. I don’t want to go back to the person I’ve been for so long.”
“I hope you still want me,” he said.
I turned and looked at him. I was sure the desperation showed on my face, but I didn’t care.
“Do you still want me?” I asked. “After everything?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked with a laugh. “You are the love of my life, I don’t think I could li
ve without you.”
I looked down, unsure of what to say. I felt so strongly for him, but I also felt so unworthy. This was the best man I’d ever known. He deserved the best in life. He needed a woman who was going to be there for him. Someone who would take care of him and love him. Someone who hadn’t done the things that I’d done.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“It’s just that, I feel so wrong for all the shit I’ve done in life. You’ve been so upstanding, and if you knew the things I did before even all this, you’d think otherwise,” I said.
He laughed, and I looked at him. “I’m being serious.”
“I know you are,” he said with a smile. “I ran a background check on you as soon as I knew your real name.”
“You did?” I asked, shocked to hear it. “You know?”
“You haven’t done anything that would stop me from wanting to be with you. And I don’t think you ever could,” he said. I looked down again. My eyes were filling with tears, and I couldn’t speak with the lump in my throat. I wanted to run to him, but I also felt like I was going to sink on the bed and just cry.
I had held in so many emotions for so long, it was hard to hear that someone accepted me for who I was. Jack looked around the room, then he grabbed a chair and pushed it under the door handle.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I looked up.
“Come here,” he said. He walked over to me and pulled me close. I was careful of his bandages, but I more than welcomed his lips as he kissed me.
“A nurse is going to be here any minute!” I said. “We can’t!”
“Don’t tell me after all you’ve been through you don’t have some sense of adventure,” he teased. I grinned. He was right, it would be fun to have sex when we might be caught.
“You’re going to get us kicked out,” I said with a smile.
“Of the hospital?” he asked with a laugh. “I don’t think that’s a thing.”
“It could be!” I said.
“Shh,” he whispered. He kept kissing me, his hands working their way over my body. I was getting more and more turned on by the second, despite the fact I was worried a nurse was going to walk in the room and catch us. It wasn’t going to go over well that he’d blocked them out with the chair. They were sure to know something was going on.
But still, his hands up my shirt, running over my body, it was more than I could ask for.
I wasn’t wearing a bra. I hadn’t been since the day I arrived. I didn’t want to be constricted by anything right now. I wanted to be free and comfortable. My nipples stiffened under his touch, and I let out a slight moan.
“Come on,” he breathed. “Let’s be naughty.”
It was the last I needed to hear. We pulled off each other’s clothes. The more that came off, the more turned on I was, and the less I cared if we got caught. Let a nurse walk in on us for all I cared. I loved this man, and I wanted to feel him inside me. I had nearly lost him, and I needed to make sure he was still whole. It was fate that brought us together and kept us together when it seemed impossible.
I moaned as he kissed my neck, working his way down to my tits. He pushed me back on the bed, pulling my ass to the edge. We were both trying to be quiet, but it was difficult as we were caught up in the heat of the moment. I couldn’t get enough of him. I had to have him inside me.
And I had to have him right the fuck then.
He pushed his cock inside my pussy, causing me to moan again. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he braced himself against the bed. He leaned over me and our mouths met, and I teased him with my tongue. He let out a soft moan as I took his bottom lip in my teeth, gently pulling out and letting it go.
His hands explored my body as mine did the same. The only thing that held me back was being careful of his wound.
Jack thrust into me, pushing himself in as hard and fast as he could. He needed it just as much as I did. I realized that it was the first time we were able to truly be together and not have to worry about the future. Jack wanted to be with me, and I wanted him.
Faster and harder he thrust, and the closer I was pushed to climax.
“You’re going to make me come!” I gasped.
“Shh,” he warned. “Or they might hear.”
But the look on his face was mischievous, and I had a feeling he wouldn’t care if anyone did. He wanted it just as much as I did, and we were both happy to finally be together. I was as quiet as I could be as the waves of pleasure ran through my body.
Jack thrust into me twice more before he joined me in ecstasy. He let out a moan, too, one that I feared was too loud. But then, he held me to him. I loved the feel of him spurting deep inside me, and I couldn’t get enough of his arms around me. It was the best feeling in the world.
As the waves subsided, Jack held me for a moment. “I love you.”
It was a simple phrase, but it was enough to make a lump rise in my throat once more.
“Promise?” I asked. “Will you always love me?”
“I promise,” he said. “No matter what life throws our way, I want to spend my life with you. You are made for me, and I can’t imagine being with anyone else. Promise, no matter what you do with your life next, your plans will include me?”
“I promise,” I said. There were tears running down my eyes, and he kissed them away. He brushed the hair out of my face as he always did, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Do you realize we just had sex in a hospital bed?” I whispered.
“They change the sheets when we leave anyway. Don’t worry,” he said. But there was a grin on his face as well.
We were interrupted by a knock at the door, and I nearly leapt from the bed. “Just a minute!”
“Are you alright in there?” the nurse called out.
“Yes, I was just changing clothes!” I called out. I hoped it was a different nurse than the one who had left me before or I’d be caught in my lie and she’d know what we’d been up to. We both looked at each other, and it was hard not to burst into laughter as we pulled our clothes back on.
I straightened the sheets as best as I could and grabbed my things off the bed. Jack struggled to get his shirt on, so I helped him before we headed back to the door. He silently put the chair back in its place, then I smiled nervously as I pulled the door open.
The nurse looked surprised to see Jack in there, but neither of us mentioned it.
“I’m ready,” I said. “Thank you.”
“Okay. The discharge papers are on the front desk. Just sign those and you’re free to go,” the nurse looked confused. She was talking to me but staring at Jack. We both pushed past her, and I hurried to the desk as quickly as I could. Jack followed, giving me a kiss before I left.
But there was no hiding the grins that were on our faces. We’d be laughing about it for a long time to come.
It was so refreshing to be able to think about my life that far into the future. A future I could be proud of. One that would make my mom smile down on me from above. I didn’t need to be ashamed of my choices anymore. Jack helped me to see that I could do anything.
He made me the happiest woman on the planet.
And I was determined to return the favor.
Epilogue
Jack - Six Months Later
“Sir, if we can pull off this drug bust, it’s going to be the biggest in history,” Welsh said.
“Do you think we can do it?” I asked.
“I know we can,” he replied. “We’re going to need two units, but if we have one coming in as backup, then we’re going to bring down the whole show. What do you think?”
I thought for a second. It was harder than I thought, being Captain, but here I was. Captain Thomas, in charge of six units. I was now the man the rest of the officers reported to. I was the one who had to make these tough calls. And as that man, I felt sorry for some of the shit I’d put Captain Markel through.
All the times that I’d thought he was a jerk, he was really doing his
best to make the right decision for all of us. He didn’t just have to worry about the lives of civilians, he had to worry about the lives of the men and women in his units as well. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Sky that day, he cared about me, too. We were both his responsibility.
He didn’t want to give me permission to do something that was going to put my own life in danger. If he had, then he was going to have my death on his head. Even if he didn’t get in trouble for that, it was a hard burden to bear.
I knew, because even though I’d only been captain of the division for three months, that had already happened. It was a tough night, and it wasn’t my personal fault that an officer fell, but I still carried his death with me every day. It was something Captain Markel had warned me about, and something I knew I could handle.
But it wasn’t something I intended to make a habit of.
“Okay. I need you to figure out when we can get the most men in that house at once. I want to bring as many in as we can at the same time, but I don’t want to spread this out,” I said at last. “It’s going to at least be next week. We know they have a mule bringing in more drugs next Wednesday, and it’s a big load.”
Welsh nodded. “Next Thursday would be a good day to make the hit. That would be enough time for us to get the units together, form a plan, make sure we have our dates and location right, and make sure the drugs really are there. If we play our cards right, no shots will even be fired.”
“That’s the way I like it,” I said with a grin. “Get it done and let me know.”
He nodded and turned to go. Welsh had matured a lot over the past six months, and I was proud to give him a promotion. A lot of people had gotten promotions after Sky’s rescue. Though it had been rather lucky for us, we had managed to bring down three major mob bosses as well as Rocco with our sting.
At first, Captain Markel had been pissed at me. He wanted me to wait for the backup to go in, too. Since I didn’t listen to him, I had nearly been killed for my own rebellion, and now that I was a captain, I hated that I’d done that to him.
Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Page 72
